Leviticus 13:1-46

Modern English Version

The Law Concerning Leprosy

13 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: ² When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling, a scab, or spot, and it turns on the skin of his body like a mark of a leprous sore, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. ³ And the priest shall examine the mark on the skin of the body, and when the hair on the diseased area is white, and the mark appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, then it is a leprous sore. So the priest shall look on him and pronounce him unclean. ⁴ If the spot is white on the skin of his body, and it appears to be no deeper than the skin, and the hair is not white, then the priest shall isolate the person who has the mark for seven days. ⁵ Then the priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if the mark is still visible, and the mark has not spread into the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days more. ⁶ And the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the mark has faded and not spread into the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab, and he shall wash his clothes and be clean. ⁷ But if the scab spreads in the skin after he has been seen by the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen by the priest again. ⁸ And if the priest sees that the scab has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.

⁹ When a person has leprosy, then it shall be reported to the priest. ¹⁰ And the priest shall examine him, and if there is a white swelling in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, ¹¹ it is a recurring leprosy in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, but he shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.

¹² If the leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the disease covers all the skin of the person who has the disease from his head to his feet, wherever the priest looks, ¹³ then the priest shall examine, and if the leprosy has covered all his body, he shall pronounce him clean from the disease. It has all turned white, and he is clean. ¹⁴ But when raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. ¹⁵ The priest shall see the raw flesh and pronounce him to be unclean, for the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy. ¹⁶ Or if the raw flesh turns again, and it is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest. ¹⁷ And the priest shall see him, and if the disease is changed to white, then the priest shall pronounce him clean who has the disease. He is clean.

¹⁸ And when the skin has a boil, and it is healed, ¹⁹ and in the place of the boil there is a white swelling or a reddish-white spot, then it will be shown to the priest. ²⁰ And if the priest sees it, and it is deeper than the skin, and the hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous sore that has broken out in the boil. ²¹ But if the priest looks at it, and there are no white hairs in it, and if it is not deeper than the skin but has faded, then the priest shall isolate the person for seven days. ²² If it spreads around the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous sore. ²³ But if the spot stays in its place and does not spread, then it is the scar of a boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

²⁴ Or if there is some of the skin on the body where there is a burn, and the raw flesh that has a burn becomes a reddish or white spot, ²⁵ then the priest shall examine it, and if the hair in the spot has turned white, and it is deeper than the skin, then it is a leprous disease broken out from the burn. Therefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous sore. ²⁶ But if the priest looks at it, and there is no white hair in the spot, and it is no deeper than the other skin and is faded, then the priest shall isolate him for seven days. ²⁷ And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if it has spread around the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a leprous sore. ²⁸ If the spot stays in its place and it does not spread in the skin, but is faded, then it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is a scar from the burn.

²⁹ If a man or woman has a sore on the head or in the beard, ³⁰ then the priest shall examine the sore, and if it is deeper than the skin and there is in it a yellow thin hair, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a scaly leprosy of the head or beard. ³¹ If the priest examines the scaly sore, and it is no deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate the person with the scale for seven days. ³² And on the seventh day the priest shall examine the sore, and if the scale has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the scale is not deeper than the skin, ³³ then he shall shave, but the scale he shall not shave, and the priest shall isolate the person with the scale another seven days. ³⁴ And on the seventh day the priest shall examine the scale. If the scale has not spread in the skin and is no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes and be clean. ³⁵ But if the scale spreads over the skin after his cleansing, ³⁶ then the priest shall examine him. If the scale has spread over the skin, the priest shall not look for yellow hair. He is unclean. ³⁷ But if the scale appears not to have changed and there is black hair growing in it, then the scale is healed. He is clean and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

³⁸ If a man or a woman has spots on the skin of the body, even white bright spots, ³⁹ then the priest shall examine, and if the bright spots on the skin of the body are a faded white, then it is just a rash that has broken out on the skin. He is clean.

⁴⁰ When a man has lost hair from his head, then he is bald. He is still clean. ⁴¹ And when a man has lost hair from his forehead, then he is bald on the forehead. He is still clean. ⁴² But if there is on the bald head or bald forehead a reddish-white sore, it is a leprous disease breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. ⁴³ Then the priest shall examine it. If the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, resembling a leprous disease in the skin of the body, ⁴⁴ he is leprous. He is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean. His disease is on his head.

⁴⁵ The man who has the leprous disease shall have torn clothes and disheveled hair; and he shall cover his mustache and shall cry, “Unclean, unclean.” ⁴⁶ All the days that he has the disease, he shall be defiled. He is unclean. He shall dwell alone, and he shall live outside the camp.